QUADRE's TuesdayAt2 is dedicated to sharing "tidbits" concerning the music world from the perspective of executive director, Daniel Wood. QUADRE-The Voice of Four Horns is a group of 4 solo French horn artists that provide concert presentations, interactive educational outreach, lectures and workshops each season.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

WWW.ARTSOPOLIS.COMArtsopolis is the "Silicon Valley's ultimate guide to arts & culture - theatre, music, dance, art and more." That quote is how the Arts Council of Silicon Valley describes their web-based initiative. I personally believe they do a fantastic job of showcasing what is happening around here. QUADRE is a registered ensemble on the web site. Our page is here.Check out the web site and all it has to offer.

TEACHING ARTIST JOURNALIn 2003, Eric Booth, Julliard professor & thespian, began this quarterly periodical. It is a professional journal for Teaching Artists. The field of teaching artists is an emerging one. Simple put a TA is an artist that teaches - someone who bridges the gap between the everyday and the work of art. QUADRE very actively immersed itself in this field while in residence in Selma, AL. In particular, the work done with Civics, Math, and History classes in Selma Middle School stretched the definition for what connections we thought we could make. We essentially started to think and express ourselves outside of the boxes we had built around us during our training. Currently, the journal comes out of Columbia College Chicago. We have received every issue since its launch. If you're interested in reading the latest issue, let me know. I'm happy to send it on or bring it to a meeting/rehearsal. One caveat - just want to get it back.

On a related note, The Montalvo Arts Center (the umbrella organization for Villa Montalvo and their other projects) recently announced that it is accepting competitive applications for their first ever Teaching Artist Fellowship. Lasting from 3-6 months, the 2 accepted teaching artists in residence will work with local schools, universities and the community to increase awareness for the arts, expand creative posibilities in individuals, and encourage a life centered around creativity.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty young musicians from 18 countries including Iran, Mexico, Denmark and South Korea are fanning out across the United States this month to perform in the hope of teaching cross-cultural understanding.

HORN CALL REVIEW of 'CITRUS'By John DresslerWhat could possibly be new for horn quartet? We've got the American Horn Quartet and the Transatlantic Horn Quartet. Doesn't that just about sum it up? Not on your life! Here are four amazingly talented young hornists with some very hip music for audiences of all ages, not just the musically-trained hornist! These are peppy, jazz-based pieces with some sort of dance element in nearly all of them. As the variety of titles suggests, one will encouter Latin/Spanish rhythms, American idioms, and other contrasts of setting. There are movements of slow tempi with some beautiful cantabile melodies as well. The quartet's blend, intonation, and musical interpretation are excellent. In many spots, they almost sound like one person doing a multi-track recording. There are moments of inspiration, sorrow, silliness, love, virtuosic display, but above all: just plain fun. I wish the group had chosen to open their disc with Wiggins' Fanfare rather than close it since it is the only more "academically-sounding" work and showcases each of the players well. It is idiomatic writing at its finest. It was commissioned in 2000 as "something brilliant" for the opening of QUADRE's concerts - they certainly go it! QUADRE feels passionately about arts education. Their interactive programs for children and adults combine music, choreography, and drama in a wonderfully positive musical experience. Check out this disc for some fresh sounds from this up-and-coming professional quartet.

(Appeared in 'The Horn Call' May 2006 issue. The magazine included musician names and listed the contents of the disc. This periodical is a journal for the International Horn Society. QUADRE has been posting news items and advertisements in the journal since 2001.)

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

NORTHWEST ON TOURCongratulations to us! QUADRE has been accepted into Northwest on Tour - the acclaimed juried roster book of touring and performing artists, that Arts Northwest produces bi-annually. NW on Tour is used extensively by presenters west coast wide. Publication is targeted for summer 2006. In addition to attending booking conferences & advertising in trade magazines like the Horn Call, being part of Northwest on Tour is another great way to get our name out there to presenters.

DEFINE: SELF-PRODUCED CONCERTS & CURATING PRESENTERSBoth of the above terms are bandied about a lot in our industry. And they can be confusing because sometimes they are used together. Self-produced concerts refers to any event that an organization puts on themselves. In the case of a performing music group like QUADRE, the events that we have done at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts count as self-produced concerts since we rent the hall, raise the grant money to help pay for it, advertise the event to sell tickets, and produce the artistic product. Curating presenters are people hired by a university, community or concert hall itself, to create a season for a venue. Often they have a budget - that they help raise - to pay to bring in particular artists for their season. A curating presenter helps produce concerts for a venue. From QUADRE's perspective, we want to get as many curating presenters to notice us and hire aka 'book' us on their season.

Simply put, QUADRE is always performing a form of self-produced concerts. When we produce them, we do all the work. When we get a curating presenter to produce them, they do most of the work.

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

NEW ELEMENT FOUNDInvestigators at a major research institution recently discovered the heaviest element known to science and have tentatively named it 'Administratium'. Administratium has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of 0. It has, however, 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force/farce that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons. They are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically, as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratium caused one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occured in less than a second.

CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL FUNDINGReceived from the California Lawyers for the Arts on April 26Knowing about everyone's concern for the future vitality of California in the wake of the California Arts Council's funding demise, we are writing to ask you to take immediate action to help at this significant juncture.

It's time to contact members of the California Assembly to encourage them to support restoration of funding for the California Arts Council. The Board of California Lawyers for the Arts has passed a resolution calling for funding the Council at the level of at least $32 million, which was the General Fund appropriate for the CAC in 2000-01, and the Community Services Committee of the League of California Cities has recommended that the League's board take a position calling for full restoration of funding. The California Sheriffs Association is also in support.

At full tilt, the non-profit arts community has generated as much as $5.4 billion annually in economic impact for the State, while delivering programs which prevent juvenile delinquency, bridge ethnic differences and spark innovation in all sectors. The arts also celebrate diversity, promote lifelong learning, promote cultural tourism, revitalize our cities, and preserve historical legacies.

New York spends $2.20 per person for the arts. Why can't California do better than three cents per person from the State's General Fund?

Please ask your elected representatives in the Assembly to support restoration of California State Arts Council funding.

You can get a complete list of Assembly members' profiles and contact information here.

Feel free to pass this on to your e-networks and others. Please let us know about your results by e-mail to advocacy@calawyersforthearts.org or call California Lawyers for the Arts at (415) 775-7200 x 333. Thanks for your help,

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Organization Profile

QUADRE is a group of four solo French horn artists that provide concert presentations, interactive educational outreach, lectures and workshops each season. Since 1998, the ensemble’s mission is to make new music accessible, engaging and enjoyable for their audiences.